Right - (boyxboy)

Chapter 17 - T-Rex

"Aren't we jumping the gun on this?" Will protested one last time as he stood on the front porch of Oliver's mother's home. Will felt his hands go clammy as his heart rate began to rise. "It's way too early for us to have Max involved in all this."

"Will, calm down," Oliver responded is a hushed tone, trying to placate the anxious man who was currently gripping his left hand like a vice. "You're just meeting him, it's nothing serious. We're not gonna talk to him about us as a couple or anything like that. Do you remember any adults you met when you were 5?"

"Don't try to use logic on me, Ol," Will snipped back, aware that he was irrational. But for some reason, his anxiety was spiking, as if his entire future was in the hands of this little boy. And even if that were true to some degree, it didn't really warrant being as nervous as he was. "Why do you have to be a lawyer?"

"It's more common sense than being a lawyer, Will," Oliver laughed, squeezing the other man's hand in comfort. "Now c'mon."

"Yeah, ok," Will agreed, deciding that he shouldn't act anymore foolish than he already had. This didn't stop him from holding his breath, however, when Oliver opened the door and pulled them inside. 

The house was a far call from the excessive opulence that had been the Hughes' previous home. At least the mega mansion that Will had last seen. There was no more grand staircase or dazzling chandelier as they entered. Will no longer had a sense of worrying that anything he could possibly break would cost more than he'd ever make in a lifetime. It was modest, in comparison, but still displayed a standard of living very few could ever attain. 

As they walked down the hallway, Will could hear Max and Moira singing along to a Wiggles song that sounded like it was playing on the TV. "Wake up, Jeff!" they sang, almost yelled, as the blonde and the brunette rounded the corner into the playroom. "You're missing all the fun now!"

"Are we really missing the fun?!" Oliver asked, dropping Will's hand to pick Max up and give him a little bit of the tickle. The little boy wriggled in his father's arms, laughing maniacally from the tickling.

"Da-da-dad! No! Stop it, stop tickling me!" Max giggled, pushing his father away with a massive smile on his face.

It warmed Will's heart to see Oliver with his son. The brunette had a complex relationship with kids, always wanting them until he saw one terrorising their parents in public and denouncing any urge to have any of his own. A chubby little baby in the arms of their mother walking past him on the footpath would make him change his mind, only for the cycle to repeat again when the thing wouldn't stop screaming bloody murder. 

Seeing Oliver and Max, as well as Cash and little Jamie, was beginning to awaken whatever parental urge was still in Will's body. Maybe not one of his 'own', though. He wouldn't want to punish a poor little thing with his own genes. Avoid passing on the crazy.

As the blonde and his mini-me began to settle down, Moira approached Will with a gentle smile. "Hello there," she said, taking Will into a quick embrace. Over before it even started. "It's very nice to see you again, especially in better circumstances."

"Yes, very much so, Mrs. Hughes," Will agreed. He wasn't too sure how to feel about this 'reunion', never having spent much time with Oliver's mother when he and the blonde had been dating a decade ago. His clearest memory of her was that ill-fated dinner where Oliver had come out about their relationship to his father, but Will doubted that that was a memory anyone in the room wanted to remember.

Oliver's mother, as kind as she always seemed to be, just smiled at Will and said, "Please call me Moira, dear. I don't want to be associated with that oaf anymore."

"Which oaf?" Oliver asked, approaching the two with Max upside down in his arms. Max giggled widly, highly amused by his new position.

"Your father, dear," was Moira's reply with a small pat on Oliver's arm. "Now, I think I'll make us all some tea."

"That would be lovely thanks, ma," said the blonde, giving his mother a quick peck on the cheek before she turned and headed to the kitchen. 

Once she had gone, Oliver flipped his son right ways up and set him on the ground. As Max got his bearings in check now that he was on solid ground, Oliver motioned for he and Will to squat so that they were on the same level as the boy. "Now Maxie, I want you to meet my friend, Will," Oliver said, prompting the boy to acknowledge the new person in the room.

"Hi, Will," Max beamed, not the slightest bit shy. "What's your favourite dinosaur?"

"My favourite is the ankylosaurus," Will replied, already ready since he knew he'd be asked. Oliver made it pretty obvious that that was usually the first question Max would ask anyone. It was like a test to see if you were cool or not.

From the look on Max's face, it seemed like Will passed. "Ankylosauruses are so cool!" Max exclaimed. "Everyone says their favourite is the T-Rex. They're boring."

Will laughed at how matter-of-fact Max's tone was. This five year old was nothing like how he'd expected. "And what's your favourite dinosaur, Max?" Will asked, glad he'd come up with something better than a T-Rex. 

"Stegosaurus," Max grinned, adding, "and triceratops!" 

"Wow, triceratopses are so cool!" Will replied, with an over-the-top enthusiasm that Max seemed to love. "And what about Dad's favourite dinosaur?"

Max's face turned serious at the question, moving closer to Will so he could lean in closer and kid-whisper, "Dad likes the T-Rex," which Oliver could still hear. "And the T-Rex used to eat the triceratops."

Will gasped in shock at this scandalous fact. "How could Dad like the T-Rex then? How rude!"

"I know," Max nodded solemnly.

Oliver couldn't help but laugh, an overwhelming feeling of relief that this wasn't turning out as terribly as he'd feared. "Well, I guess I'll just have to eat you up then, my little triceratops," he said, scooping up his son again and pretending to nibble at him as the little boy flailed wildly in delight.

"No, Dad!" Max screamed. "You can't eat me!"

"Yes, I can," said the blonde, continuing to mime bites to the boy's face. "Om nom nom nom, so yummy!"

"Not yummy, not yummy," Max said, laughing uncontrollably.

As the two continued to play around, Will watched with a big grin on his face. Was this going to be his happy ending? After all the drama that they'd gone through, this was how their story was going to end? If this was how it was going to be, Will didn't have a single complaint.

"What did you want to do now, little buddy?" Oliver asked, deciding they'd both had enough of their little game. As the little boy in his arms caught his breath and pondered what he wanted to do next, the blonde looked at the other man across from him, the giant smile still on his face. Oliver's heart fluttered at the sight, his mind running with all the possibilities of their future together, just him, Max and Will.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"So how are you feeling?" Oliver asked a few hours later, having come down the stairs to find Will alone on the couch. He'd just put Max to bed, absolutely tuckered out from the evening they'd all had together, including the obstacle course he and Will had built together. Nanny Moira wasn't too happy with the mess, but couldn't find the heart to be too annoyed after seeing how much fun everyone was having.

"Thank you for letting me into this part of your life, Ol," Will said as the blonde joined him on the couch. He shuffled closer, relishing in the feeling of Oliver's arm wrapping around his shoulder as he leant against his chest. "Max is going to grow up into a fantastic young man."

"I hope you'll be around to see it," was all Oliver said before the fatigue of running around after an energetic 5 year old got to him. Will watched as Oliver's eyes fluttered closed and his breathing evened out.

"I hope so too," Will whispered, unwrapping himself from the blonde and laying a blanket on him. 

I really do.